The 9 Unhealthiest Things You Can Order At Papa John's

If your goal is to live a healthier lifestyle — however you define it — then you may be trying to omit certain elements from your day-to-day life. Whether it be excessive alcohol consumption, negativity, or heavily processed foods, cutting out the bad stuff usually results in positive benefits like increased physical and mental health. Unfortunately, unhealthy features are par for the course with some of our favorite restaurants and foods.

Take, for example, any major pizza chain where carbs, meat, and cheese are all the name of the game. Of course, pizza and its classic accompaniments (think wings or breadsticks) can be part of a healthy lifestyle when enjoyed in moderation. Even the greasiest, cheesiest, topping-loaded pizza can be suitable if you're making healthy choices in other areas of your life. But what do you do when you want to actively avoid the unhealthiest choices? Well, if you're ordering at Papa John's, you should start by avoiding these menu items.

Stuffed crust is not necessarily new. First introduced to the country's pizza lovers by Pizza Hut in 1995, you can now buy stuffed crust pizzas from a variety of chains, as well as frozen versions from brands like DiGiorno and Red Baron. So while this concept isn't new, the Epic Stuffed Crust pizza from Papa John's is.

Introduced in 2020, this pizza has quickly gained a following. Originally, the crust option was just a perfectly crispy standard stuffed crust filled with gooey mozzarella, but over time Papa John's offered new variants. It began stuffing it with even more goodness, like pepperoni in addition to the mozzarella. Today, you can order an Epic Stuffed Crust pizza with a variety of toppings.

Unfortunately, even if you choose pretty healthy toppings (and Papa John's gives you an array of fresh veggies and similar add-ons to choose from), that won't necessarily negate all the less-than-unhealthy ingredients stuffed into the crust. Available in one size only, the stuffed crust packs in 900 milligrams of sodium, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, and 8 grams of saturated fat. That's nearly twice as much saturated fat as an extra-large original crust and more than twice as much sodium as a small original crust.

What if you took all of the sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat from Papa John's Epic Stuffed Crust and then topped that crust with six different cheeses, pepperoni, and sausage? Sure, you'd have one delicious pizza, but you'd also have the unhealthiest Papa John's specialty pizza available on the menu.

Just one slice of this specialty pizza comes with 26 grams of fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 grams of carbs, and 1,220 milligrams of sodium. But what does that mean for your health? The American Heart Association recommends ideally consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, so one slice of pizza (and who really eats just one slice?) contains nearly all your sodium for the day. Additionally, it's advised that people limit their cholesterol intake between 200 to 300 milligrams per day, depending on their current health. As for fat intake, aiming for 44 to 78 grams per day if you're following a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet is ideal.

Given that Papa John's tantalizing crusts can add major fat and sodium intake to your diet, you might think that going with one of the brand's newer Papa Bowls is a great option. You eliminate the crust and get all the goodness of toppings without the carbs. While this is true to a degree, you can't rely on Papa Bowls as a healthy option across the board.

Papa Bowls come in three styles: chicken Alfredo, Italian meats trio, and garden veggie. The Italian meats trio bowl is the unhealthiest, combining pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and three different types of cheese in a blend of red pizza sauce and Alfredo. The result counts 68 grams of fat, 2,460 milligrams of sodium, and 185 milligrams of cholesterol. If you were trying to decide between pizza or this bowl, you could do much better with a slice.

The good news from these disappointing nutritional truths is that although these bowls may look tasty, sources like Running on Empty Food Reviews actually report that the dish is quite disgusting. You may not be missing out on all that much by avoiding it for your health.

Pizza chains are constantly coming out with new takes on the classic dish. They like to reinvent the wheel, offering products that no one asked for, but that occasionally turn out pretty well. Papa John's is no exception. In addition to stuffing its crust and offering a bowl with no crust, the chain also released Papadias in 2020, which is exactly what it sounds like — a pizza-inspired quesadilla. 

At the time of release, Papa John's acknowledged that the menu item wasn't actually a riff on a quesadilla, but a new take on a regional Italian folded sandwich. However, anyone who looks at it with the name in mind will definitely associate it with a quesadilla unless they are in the know regarding regional Italian specialties. (You might ask why Papa John's, in all of its reinventing, wouldn't just stick to a calzone like other chains. It's similar to a pizza-inspired quesadilla and actually recognizable; while there's no clear answer, you wouldn't be alone in that query.)

Regardless of how you feel about the creation, if you're going for healthy at Papa John's, avoid the Parmesan crusted Italian Papadia. Packed with Alfredo sauce, sausage, salami, peppers, and cheese, it's also loaded with a whopping 3,010 milligrams of sodium — more than double the American Heart Association's ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

Coming in several different flavors, both sweet and savory, Papa John's Papa Bites make a great snack, appetizer, or dessert. The small, dough-wrapped bites are packed with flavorful combos like chicken and Parmesan, jalapeño and cheese, and Oreos. Unfortunately, this is the kind of snack that comes with quite a lot of sodium, especially since you're not likely to eat just one. 

Papa John's counts one serving of its Papa Bites as one singularBite, which is demanding a lot of willpower from its customers. It's not going to happen. With eight units in a box, you're more likely to eat all of them or maybe split them with a friend. Regardless, you can expect each and every chicken Parmesan Papa Bite to come with 280 milligrams of sodium — which means that sodium adds up quickly the more poppin' you do. Your best bet? For this tasty snack, opt for the (slightly healthier) jalapeño Papa Bites.

Breadsticks (or some variation thereof) are arguably the most popular app or side at pizza restaurants. No matter the establishment, whether a national chain or a local mom-and-pop shop, chances are good that breadsticks are on the menu. At Papa John's, the bread offerings range from garlic knots and plain breadsticks to cheesesticks covered in ooey-gooey goodness. The unhealthiest of them all? Predictably, the bacon cheesesticks.

These babies are baked golden brown and topped with both bacon and a garlic sauce. Each stick comes with 330 milligrams of sodium, and as is the case with most Papa John's apps, eating just one isn't exactly realistic. By the time you eat a few, you'll have racked up close to 1,000 milligrams of sodium — and that's before you even touch your pizza. All that said, if you're aiming for a healthier meal, starting off with the bacon cheesesticks will not set you up for success.

Wings often seem like a healthier bet as far as fast and fast-casual food goes. It's just chicken which is pretty healthy, right? Sure, it's usually fried and there are some sauces involved, but at the end of the day, you can make wings work as part of a healthy diet. However, if you're of that mindset and perusing Papa John's offerings, you'll want to specifically avoid the Buffalo wings.

An order of eight comes with 2,920 milligrams of sodium, well above the American Heart Association's ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. You'll also consume 58 grams of fat, including 15 grams of saturated fat, and 205 milligrams of cholesterol. Comparatively, if you went with unsauced roasted wings, you'd cut that sodium in half. While 1,460 milligrams of sodium is still a lot for one menu item, it's definitely a lot better than double the amount.

It's no secret that sometimes the unhealthiest thing on your plate can be the condiments. Ketchup, barbecue sauce, ranch, and the like are notorious for hiding high amounts of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium. Just a tiny amount of extra flavor seems so innocent, and yet condiments can really derail a healthy lifestyle if you're not careful.

At Papa John's, arguably the most famous and most well-loved condiment is the special garlic sauce. Copycat recipes abound online and fans rave about how the sauce manages to hit just the right amount of garlic. It's not overly powerful, and it's oh-so-smooth and perfect for dipping pizza, breadsticks, and anything else your heart desires.

Unfortunately, Papa John's special garlic sauce is also laden with sodium and fat, with 310 milligrams and 17 grams respectively per serving. Of course, this doesn't compare to the sodium levels in the restaurant's Buffalo dipping sauce, but the Buffalo sauce also contains less than a gram of fat, putting the special garlic sauce in the top spot as Papa John's unhealthiest sauce.

Looking to satisfy your sweet tooth by topping off your Papa John's feast with a fan-favorite dessert? You'll have several different options, but if you're trying to avoid the unhealthiest, there's no need to steer clear of the Oreo-stuffed Papa Bites or Cinnamon Pullaparts. Those indulgences can't stand up to the amount of sugar found in the double chocolate chip brownies. 

Papa John's estimates a single serving of double chocolate chip brownies to include 23 grams of sugar. Comparatively, one Oreo Papa Bite contains 4 grams of sugar, while a slice of the giant chocolate chip cookie contains 18 grams. According to Harvard Health, added sugar consumption should be less than 24 to 36 grams per day.

Still don't see the big deal about 23 grams of sugar? For a powerful visual, just think of how those grams translate to teaspoons of sugar. A teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams, so that means eating one brownie is equivalent to eating almost six teaspoons of sugar — you likely wouldn't want to sit down and eat that much white sugar straight from the bag.